May 11, 2011 3:45 AM

Several of us on some of the threads have wanted to stay together even after we've finished the C25k program. Well I'm kicking it off - this thread is for graduates of the C25k program as they move on to new challenges! Welcome all!

Thanks, Richard, for starting this thread! I graduated C25K last Monday, did my first 5K on Saturday and have done one 30 min run since then. It was surprisingly harder than I expected. I was still sore from the race but I think it was the heat and humidity more than anything. Two weeks, we had a high of 55 and Monday, it was 80 something when I started running. Gonna have to get used to that though!

I have 3 friends who are doing C25K right now so I am trying to find a 5K that we could all do together. Really need a goal to keep me focused. I love running but without that carrot (or someone with a stick), I am so afraid that I will relapse into lazy Diane again. Am I the only one who feels that way??

You are not alone in feeling that way. As soon as I start getting a little unmotivated I start a schedule. I started the 10k schedule yesterday. Just having it on paper and somewhere that I have to look at it everyday, whether I want to or not, is enough for me. You will find your own little things that keep you motivated. Keep moving. No matter how slow you are; you are faster than anyone that is sitting on the couch.

It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit. ~George Sheehan

This morning I did a comfortable 2.75 miles - it is so satisfying to be able to say that!

As for me I thought I would share my goals -

My major reason for running is to help me make a complete lifestyle change - and I am still doing that. But even though weightloss is a primary concern I know me - and I need a challenge to keep me focused.

So for me I've set both long term and short term goals. I am starting a new program designed to increase my weekly and long run mileage through September. I plan to run several races between now and then hoping to improve my 5k time and ease into also running more extended races like 10k and half marathon.

If everything goes well in September I'll sart training for a marathon.

It is so wierd saying that considering that mere weeks ago I was huffing to do a 90 second run leg.

My wife and I are about half way done with C25K, doing W5D2 tonight. I am already looking forward to my first 5K this summer. Then I will be looking to train for a 10K. Good luck to you all and I'm proud to be here on this thread, and soon enough, I will deserve to be here. LOL.

Finished C25K yesterday and will start a 10K program tomorrow morning. Have already completed three 5Ks and hope by training for 10K will improve my 5K times. My next goal is to run a sub 25 minute 5K. Still have 20 pounds to lose, so I have to keep running.

Thank you for starting this thread. I just finished C25K also, and need the "program" to keep me from falling back into lazy. What training programs are you all using? I'm trying one that's 5K to 10K - it starts out with 3 days of 10 min run/1 min walk, repeat 4x, then moves to 15min run/1min walk 3x, etc... the first day about killed me, and I ended up not running the last 10 min. :-( But, the second day was better! Does anyone have any information about how much you should be extending your mileage a week?

I need the motivation from other people to keep going. I ran my first 5 K last Sunday and have signed up for another one the end of June, so I have to get out there and keep moving. It is so easy to slide back to old habits.

I am going to try the 10-K Training: Novice by Hal Higdon. It seems that it starts where the C25K left off, being able to run 3 miles and adding a little distance each week. I will continue to sign up for 5 K and hopefully some day be able to do a 10K, it may take me a while to get there but at least I will be moving forward.

Don't quote me on this but I think I read that you should add 10% per week to your running distance.

edhodge - i know what you mean - down here in ecuador it is a constant struggle to work around the heat and humidity. the good news is I don't have

a winter that forces me inside for severaal months each year

Slowskinnyrunner - so true - and welcome!

Gov66 - Keep working - you're almost there!

Simon Alderman - LOL - don't matter - you're welcome now.

Crainjo - Welcome and good luck on completing your goals.

Susanc02- Thank you! As for the mileage increase - there are a couple of generally recognized rules most of the good running advisors have:

1) Increase mileage no more than 10% per week - for example if you are now running three runs of 3 miles each week - that is 9 miles so you would only want to increase your mileage one mile to 10 the next week, then 11 the week after.

2) Every 3-4 weeks you should level or go back in mileage to give your body a chance to rest, recover and adapt to the running program - always increasing the mileage every week causes strain on the body so if you constantly are causing it to strain to meet knew mileage goals there is a higher chance for injury. For example a weekly mileage program might look like this:

WK 1 10 miles

Wk 2 11 miles

WK 3 12 miles

Wk 4 13 miles

WK 5 12 miles

WK 6 13 miles

Wk 7 14 miles

Wk 8 16 miles

WK 9 14 miles

etc.

It is possible to increase faster - the important thing is to listen to your body and if you feel signs of overtraining then to back off a couple of days to let the body catch up.

Friday is a "Rest Day" but hardly that. We have student council elections on Friday which is quite a production down here - with a morning assembly - student voting by computer lab (so I'll have to take my class to the library to let it vote) then the final hour is another assembly with music, screaming and lots of tears - joy to the winners and bitter disappointment (Mr! They cheated!) for the losers. Then my barbeque team heads to my wife's school where they are setting up their 2nd Annual Texas Days Festival (Texas in Ecuador - who'd a thought?) to set up our competition booth. Then it is up early Saturday to fire up the coals so we can have the ribs on by 8 am). Somewhere in there I need to fit in a run.

I completed C25K on Thursday morning and have my first 5K tomorrow. I am facing quite the issue. Yesterday, the bursitis in my left hip (which I hasn't bothered me in ages) decided to make a very painful visit.

I've been taking ibuprofen all day yesterday and so far today, but still I'm feeling it. I'm afraid for tomorrow. If it continues hurting like this, I don't know that I can do the 5K. It's stressing me out. What should I do?

Thanks for starting this and hopefully you'll all allow me to join. I also just graduated from C25K on Thursday. I would have loved to have been in a "group" of some sort when I first started.

To everyone else: I was also thinking of going into the Bridge to 10K, starting tomorrow. I have two really good friends that run and I am not yet ready to run for their distance and at their speed (I'm very much a penguin/turtle/slug). One runs 3-5 miles almost daily with a long run on the weekend. The other does 3 miles every other day or so and then does 4-6 on the weekend. I guess in a sense they both just add on time when in "training" for a longer run much like Richard explains.

. Being new to running and the discipline it takes (and mental games I play with my mind) to have gotten this far, I'm not sure I could just turn on an IPOD and go run for 30,40 or 50 minutes. I JUST finished getting to 30 minutes and have not yet run 2.5 or 3 miles in that 30 minutes. What worked for me about this program was that it talks to me. There was a definitive training schedule that i could follow and it told me when to walk, trot and cool down. I think that, at least for me, it's the way to go. The question is which program is best to increase distance. I'm guessing that the times will get better automatically.

It sounds like most of you are ahead in that you have already run a race. My first one is coming up on May 30, just two weeks away. What is the best program to figure out how far I am actually running right now, to know how far I still have to go? Also, how often do most of you run? I need to lose weight and want to run 4-5 times a week. Is it better to have one or two shorter runs during the week (maybe a mile or mile and a half) or should every time I go out be for at least 30 minutes? Is it better to find something different to do the other 2 days...like swimming?